


On the verge of death

by mIDNIGHTwOLF (va_di_pa)



Series: Kurz vorm Ende [2]
Category: Starcrossed Series - Josephine Angelini
Genre: Ancient Greece, Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Gods, Hell, Modern Era, Part 2, Rescue, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:40:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23140357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/va_di_pa/pseuds/mIDNIGHTwOLF
Summary: Here I wrote the second last chapter of Starcrossed-Dreamless from Lucas' point of view, about the rescue of Helen after she was kidnapped by Automedon,
Relationships: Lucas Delos & Orion Evander, Lucas Delos/Helen "Lennie" Hamilton, Orion Evander & Helen "Lennie" Hamilton
Series: Kurz vorm Ende [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1663438
Kudos: 1





	1. "I'll save you!"

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys,  
> I am currently uploading my stories from other websites here on AO3.  
> This is one I wrote when I was fifteen years old, maybe I will edit it in the future, but for now it will stay as it is.

We had finally reached the cave where the portal was.  
Hopefully she is not dead yet, I thought and looked over to Orion who was handing me a flashlight which I gratefully accepted.  
"Follow me. There are many portals here but I think I know where Automedon has taken her," Orion said and looked directly at me.  
Even though I didn't like him much after spending so much time with Helen in the Underworld, I trusted him because I saw how much he cared about Helen.  
As we walked through the caves, all I could think about was that Automedon had dared to stab and kidnap Helen, it made me so angry.  
After what felt like hours we heard something, you couldn't hear it clearly but it was definitely a voice, we started running.  
Helen hold on, we are coming through, please hold on.  
With quick steps we hurried on.  
A flickering golden shimmer led us closer to our goal.  
We stopped and a voice came to our ear.  
I wanted to go further Orion held me back  
"Let me go! We have to save Helen! "I ran into him and wanted to get away, but Orion held me tight.  
"We can't just barge in there waving guns around," he whispered.  
"But we can't stand here forever, he might be killing her right now," I whispered back forcefully.  
"All right, go ahead then, you first, I'll watch your back. The most important thing now is Helen, if she is safe we can take care of Helen."  
I nodded and turned around with a big step I stepped further into the light I looked around the corner and my heart almost stopped  
"Helen! No!" I cried across the cave that echoed the scream.  
As she lay there with her back to us, Ares bent over her with her hand on the knife and all the blood around her.  
Suddenly the floor reared up and fell back crashing, Ares fell tumbling against the wall away from Helen who was still lying with her back to us.  
"Get away from her," growled Orion, I saw how angry he was.  
I saw Ares look back and forth between us in panic and press himself against the wall at his back.  
"Hades! You have your orders!", Ares screamed hysterically "Let me through!  
Suddenly and without warning, the portal pulled Ares into itself.  
What a coward he was, I thought.  
Helen still just lay there and didn't move, please live, don't let her be dead, I begged inside.  
No longer thinking of Ares, I ran towards Helen with Orion.  
"Lucas. Oh, no," Orion moaned.  
"She's not dead," I said, using all my strength not to scream at the top of my lungs and dive after Ares to do to him what he did to Helen, "She can't be dead."  
Orion and I knelt down next to her, I saw that she must have been in terrible pain when we touched her, but we had to turn her around, she had so many wounds all over her body, the worst being her face and neck from which blood was constantly flowing.  
"Take it easy, Helen," I whispered, my concern for her almost crushing me, it was unbearable to see her like that, "I know it hurts, but we have to move you."  
I thought I saw her trying to say something when there was already a rush of blood pouring out of her throat.  
"I have a knife," said Orion, cutting Helen's handcuffs with a skilled hand.  
I carefully slid my arms under her body and tried to lift her so carefully that I didn't cause her any more pain.  
When I had lifted her completely up she started fidgeting and coughing weakly in my arms, which only caused more blood to spurt out of her throat and turn my clothes red.  
"I'll lead the way," Orion said, looking determined as he walked out of the cave with the flashlight in his hand.  
As I followed Orion through the cave with Helen in my arms I could only think of how Ares had dared to torture Helen and inflict such severe wounds on her, I knew all along that I could have found her dead but this was worse than anything else.  
She was put in danger and I couldn't forgive myself, even if my father told me to stay away from her and I knew that it would only lead to a war between the houses, I couldn't let go of her and now that I held her half dead in my arms I could only think of her and my feelings towards her.  
"There is the exit," Orion shouted over my shoulders, outside the moon and the stars shone and illuminated the dark night.


	2. "I fight for you!"

I thought that was it and we just go home where Helen could heal in peace, but I was wrong, it would have been too easy.  
The relief fell off Orion and he pushed us back into the cave, protecting our shoulders above us.  
What was wrong, I tried to look past his shoulders but I could not see anything.  
And suddenly without any warning Orion opened his mouth with a gasp and his eyes grew big as the iron tip of a sword came out from under his sternum.  
The ground shook.  
I recognized red insect eyes, Automedon, he rammed the sword into Orion's back and probably enjoyed it too.  
He wanted to see us dead no question, all three of us.  
"Orion!", I shouted and shifted Helen to one arm to hold Orion upright with the other, but I didn't have the strength and so we both fell to our knees, Helen safe between us  
Helen, I knew we both, Orion and I, would voluntarily die ourselves to save Helen.  
Automedon pulled the sword from Orion's back and a gush of blood flowed from the wound, dripping on Helen.  
Outside, thunder filled the night, strange as there weren't even clouds in the sky, but I didn't think about it anymore.  
"My knife," Orion gasped, I knew immediately that I should fight Automedon with my knife, since neither Helen nor Orion was really in good shape to fight Automedon properly.  
A rattle came from Helen, worrying thoughts came to me which I quickly drove away.  
"Can you take them", I asked Orion whispering, I knew that he did not necessarily have enough strength left to take them and I did not want him to faint immediately so I begged almost inwardly that he would tell the truth.  
But instead of answering, he simply pushed his arms under Helen's body and took them off me.  
When her weight was no longer on me it felt like I had lost something that should have stayed there.  
I pulled the knife out from under Orion's shirt, jumped up in a flash and paced towards the waiting Automedon.  
I made the first strike with the knife but Automedon was prepared and fought it off without much effort before he struck himself, precisely as a real warrior should.  
To fend off his blow was harder than I had thought, he struck with a hard and intransigent strike.  
He didn't even try to fend off the next blows I dealt him off, he just let it happen or avoided it, but I kept trying, I just had to keep him busy until Orion and Helen were far enough away.  
Automedon rammed his disgusting insect knee into my stomach, I crouched down for a moment, Automedon took advantage of that and stabbed me but his sword didn't stab with full power but I still got a nasty stab wound.  
Again ready to fight I saw that Orion had appeared next to me with a sword in his hand, this idiot he should stay with Helen, take her away or at least watch her until help comes.  
But I could not think about it for a long time because Automedon was not defeated yet and we were still in danger.  
We both beat them as fast as we could, Orion was good but with the chest wound that will change, I knew that.  
Every hit we made Automedon endured, we stabbed him and a greenish white liquid flowed out of many wounds, but no matter how many wounds we inflicted on him he continued to fight with the strength and precision he had in the beginning, while Orion and I slowly got tired, which was probably his plan but we couldn't give up for Helen.  
The chest wound was bothering Orion, he didn't pay attention for a moment and Automedon stabbed him, right in the stomach, Orion staggered back.  
Automedon saw his chance and attacked me immediately.  
With one quick movement he knocked the knife out of my hand, it flew away from me in a high arc, without a weapon I was now standing there.  
"Luke!" Orion shouted with a voice breaking from exhaustion and threw his sword at me, now he was defenceless.  
I caught the sword and flew over Automedon, who stood before me confident of victory, over Orion.  
With a face distorted with pain he held his wound against his belly, blood flowed out between his fingers, he tried to stand up and immediately toppled over again, while more blood flowed quickly from his wound.  
Turning threateningly to Automedon, I built myself up, when he tried to attack Orion he had to pass me first, although I knew myself that I would not stand for long.  
Automedon smiled, confident as he was.  
In a moment I would be lying half dead on the ground, I was exhausted and Automedon still full of energy, I prepared myself for his attack and more adrenalin flowed through my veins while my heart was beating like crazy.  
I thought I heard someone calling Helen's name, but I wasn't sure.  
Automedon lifted the sword above his head, so much confidence, he knew I didn't stand a chance against him.  
"Look out," Orion shouted just before he set the ground shaking.  
A tremendous crash followed, I tried to stand on my feet and gave up gravity so I could float while the crash echoed through the darkness.  
The floor gave way under Automedon as he struggled frantically to regain his balance after falling to his knees.  
As if by magic, he quickly regained his balance and my newly awakened hope that we had literally brought him to his knees went out.  
After the quake had subsided, I landed in front of Orion, took the sword more firmly in my hand and looked grimly at Automedon, even though I knew we could not win the fight I would not give up.  
Automedon built himself up before us and bowed.  
What was that all about?  
"You are clearly the three I have been waiting for for several thousand years", across the metre-wide chasm he announced this to us, "I thank Ares for allowing me to fight battles for many thousands of years, battles that prepared me for you, otherwise I would not have been ready for this. But the time has come and now I am ready."  
I couldn't think about what I was saying, because already Automedon jumped effortlessly across the chasm and landed right in front of Orion and me.  
Without hesitation he punched me, I tried to defend myself, but after only three blows from him he had disarmed me.  
Without a weapon I was now in front of him and tried to protect Orion from Automedon, but after two more blows it was finally over, my knees gave way under me, blood flowed from a deep wound on my shoulder.  
He would defeat us and kill us one by one without any problems, first me then Orion and finally Helen, who was still lying outside injured.  
What have I done?  
He's gonna kill us and it's no use, great job Lucas, just great job.  
I cried out in frustration and pain.  
Suddenly a bright white lightning bolt shot at Automedon and hit him with full force, he collapsed and writhed in pain.  
I looked in the direction the lightning had come from and there she stood, Helen, she lowered her arm and staggered sideways, the lightning cost her a lot of strength, but although she herself needed all her strength to heal, she shot him down to save Orion and me.  
She continued to stagger sideways and a human silhouette appeared to catch and support her.  
Who was it? Did our family find us?


	3. "I see you fighting!"

"I see you fighting"  
I saw Helen stagger towards me the silhouette supported her, as they came closer I realized that the silhouette next to her was this guy, Zach.  
Why did he help her if he was going to keep giving her a hard time.  
Severely injured, I was kneeling here and should have been helping Helen and not that stupid traitor Zach.  
She fell next to me, lightly pressing on my wound.  
A distant rumble of thunder was reaching my ears.  
Helen continued to press on my wound, she hadn't recovered yet and tried to help me, I would have loved to kiss her now and take her in my arms, but that wouldn't have been so wise.  
We must not be together, even if we still wanted it that way.  
Suddenly something pulled Helen off me and dragged her across the floor.  
I looked to see what it was and saw Automedon, he had almost recovered from Helen's lightning, which was pulling at Helen's naked ankle.  
I heard a moaning behind me and turned around carefully, Orion still lying there wounded and holding his wounds from which blood was still flowing.  
Slowly I directed myself to the wounds that hurt, but they were not as bad as Orion's.  
I carefully helped Orion up, he nodded thankfully, we supported each other and walked towards Automedon and Helen, we tried to snatch her from Automedon.  
My injured shoulder leaned against Orion's chest wound, it hurt terribly.  
Again it was thundering outside, what were those no clouds in the sky and a roll of thunder like in a big thunderstorm.  
"It's too late, Princess," was Automedon's voice  
Too late? What was it too late for?  
Helen looked up at us.  
"It's done," Automedon announced, closing his eyes for a moment in relief.  
Helen looked at us, and I saw in her eyes and in the look on her face that something significant had just happened, but what I didn't know.  
She looked sad, I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I was interrupted by Automedon who had contacted Zach.  
"And now for you, slave," Automedon said to Zach, he jumped on his feet, he had completely recovered from Helen's flash.  
"You have sworn upon this dagger to serve or die. And in the end, you did not serve."  
Zach stood there, his face distorted with fear, he served Automedon but more forced than voluntary, you could see him flinch as Automedon took a step towards him, he could feel sorry for him he had done many bad things but even he did not deserve a lord like Automedon.  
Automedon pulled a jeweled dagger from its sheath on his belt.  
I saw Helen trying to stand up, probably to help Zach, she kept trying, but before she could, Automedon had already thrust the sword into the middle of Zach's chest.  
When Zach fell, Helen caught him, she looked so sad, you could tell she liked him, even though he was to blame for the whole disaster that happened to her.  
"Oh no, Zach," I heard Helen whisper as she laid him down gently beside her on the floor.  
Automedon, disinterested, turned his back on us and the dying Zach and raised his hands in the blue morning that dawned on the horizon.  
"I have fulfilled my part, Ares," Automedon said happily to heaven, "Now give me what I ask for. Reunite me with my brother."  
A deal with Ares, Automedon does the dirty work and then gets his desired reward, Automedon wanted to be reunited with his brother.  
I wonder who his brother was, Matt believed it was a god and that's why Automedon was immortal.  
"Helen," I heard Zach gasp forcefully, I looked at Helen, her concentration was completely on Zach.  
"His blood brother... was not a god, as Matt believed."  
Zach grabbed the knife in his chest and started to pull it out, making the wound worse.  
Helen tried to stop him. She looked like she was about to cry.  
I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her everything was gonna be okay, but even I didn't believe that, nothing was gonna be okay.  
"No, leave it in. You will bleed to death," she whispered in a hoarse voice.  
But Zach didn't stop until Helen reluctantly helped him pull it out, he clasped her hand around the handle and looked at her meaningful.  
"It was Achill."  
Achill, that explained a lot.  
Zach turned his head at Automedon's feet, he was already very weak and couldn't take it much longer.  
I looked at Helen and saw that she understood what Zach had told her and shown her.  
She picked up the knife, she looked determined.  
You could see she was doing it most for Zach, who was suffering so much from Automedon.  
She gripped the handle tighter with her hand, focused Automedon's heel, and stabbed.  
She had done it, she had hit Automedon's weak spot.  
Automedon became a Statue of stone and crumbled to a pile of dust.  
Orion and I fought him, wounded him, and got hurt more ourselves.  
And now he's dead from a single stab wound inflicted on him by Helen.  
"Hang in there," I heard Helen cawing to Zach, she looked around searching and ran her hand across the floor.  
I concentrated on Helen and Zach.  
"Don't go away," Zach begged Helen and held her by the arm as she tried to crawl away from him, with the other he reached into the dust that was once Automedon and pulled out the dagger, which he then gave to Helen.  
"Tell Matt he's been a good friend to me," Zach said in his last breath before he finally exhaled his life.  
I realized immediately that Helen knew he was dead.  
I'm so sorry, Helen.  
Suddenly, a voice came up and broke the silence.  
"You see Eris, I have not betrayed him - the Myrmidon's wish has been granted", Ares, not again, he stood there between his sister Eris and his son Phobos.  
"He is reunited with Achilles. Just not on Earth as he would have liked!"  
"At least his slave is with him, to serve him in the underworld," hissed Eris.  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Helen turn from Zach towards Ares, her head hanging and breathing heavily.  
It may not have been good to turn your back on gods, but Helen was more important now.  
Together with Orion I walked towards Helen, we knelt down beside her and I put a hand on her shoulder.  
Helen looked up to both of us, she looked terrible, full of fear and partly guilt were her eyes. But what for?  
"How?" Orion gasped beside me as he pointed to Ares and looked at Helen questioningly.  
I asked myself the same question, how could the gods just walk around here on Earth.  
"We three," Helen replied to Orion's question, "have become blood brothers."  
I looked painfully at Orion and saw in his eyes that he, too, had realized we were being taken advantage of.  
Helen's rescue by us was not as surprising as we had hoped but even expected.  
We have to get out of here, Orion was already pale and shaky from all the blood he had lost, my arm I could not move and Helen was still not completely healed, we all were not fit to fight.  
"Can you fly?" I whispered and could have slapped myself in the face in a minute.  
I only had to look at her and knew she couldn't fly, at least not as long as she had to for us to get out of here.  
Helen looked at Ares, across the deep crack in the ground and clenched her hand into a fist.


	4. "I see you triumph!"

"I'm not going anywhere." Helen struggled to get up, one leg disobeyed her.  
What was she up to, she looked determined and angry, no matter what she was up to I couldn't stop her, I knew that.  
"Have you gone mad?" Orion called Helen.  
He tried to get her back to cover by tugging at her sleeve.  
Helen put her hand on his until he stopped.  
I knew I had to say something to at least try to stop her from what she was about to do.  
"Helen, you can't hope to win this," I walked up to her and took her hand in mine, I looked at Orion.  
"How are you feeling?" I asked Orion.  
"Awful." Orion rose laboriously and stood next to Helen, "And I'm pretty sure I'm about to feel a lot worse."  
Helen squeezes my hand briefly.  
I wonder if she had a plan.  
"Do we have a plan?" I asked them both.  
"Do you really want to fight me, Godsweet?", of course Ares had to add his mustard, but I just followed Helen and ignored him.  
"How deep is this crack, Orion?", Helen asked Orion softly so Ares didn't hear everything.  
"How deep do you need it?" Orion asked back.  
"Does it reach down into the caves? The one with the portals?", now I knew what she was planning but how she was going to do it exactly, I have no idea.  
"Can you make it wider if I say so?", Helen asked further.  
"Sure, but...", Orion fell silent, now he too had understood what Helen was up to.  
He began to shake his head, his forehead furrowed, but when he wanted to say something, he didn't get a chance.  
Aries raised, rusty, sharp sword went up in flames, probably to deter us.  
I saw that it didn't help Helen, for she was already panting across the chasm.  
Ares let out a battle cry, but before he could finish it, Helen landed on him and rammed him into the ground, right at the edge of the abyss, about half a meter deep.  
Which she could only do because she made herself unnaturally heavy by affecting gravity.  
He raised his sword and tried to cut Helen's head off.  
I looked at Orion who looked as worried as I felt, but we trusted Helen and would help her if she asked.  
She struck his blade away with the back of her hand as if it were a piece of paper.  
I noticed Aries incredulous look, Helen was stronger than Ares would have thought.  
Helen, while Ares was recovering from the shock, wrapped her knees around his ribs, dug her fingers into his throat and squeezed the air out of him with all her limbs, injured or not.  
I noticed Ares' flames getting hotter, but Helen just squeezed harder, the flames didn't burn her, probably because her flashes were ten times hotter.  
In revenge, she shot two bolts of lightning into his neck.  
I couldn't watch them any longer because there were still Eris and Phobos to take care of, Orion and I had to take care of them now.  
I gave Orion a sign and we attacked Eris and Phobos at the same time and beat them without mercy and tried to subjugate them.  
Despite serious injuries we would fight them to the end.  
"Orion! Now!", Helen suddenly cried.  
Orion turned away briefly and Phobos attacked I intervened just in time to give Orion a free hand.  
While I stopped Eris and Phobos, Orion let the ground shake and I heard a crash and rumble before the ground broke away.  
Orion rejoined my side and I looked back for a moment just as Helen and Ares fell into the chasm together.  
I was completely focused on Helen, who was falling with Ares towards the ground at that very moment.  
I couldn't hear anything for a long time and so I didn't know what was happening down there.  
After what felt like an eternity, a male cry sounded.  
I and Orion briefly let go of Eris and Phobos, who immediately took flight, we tried to stop them, but this was not important.  
We both were more worried about Helen, who soon had to come out of the hole.  
I heard footsteps outside, Orion heard this too and turned to the sound.  
We saw several people coming towards us, after a short time I recognized my family and Daphne and Matt.  
Joy was stealing into my subconscious, they were there at last.  
They looked at me and Orion asking: "Where is Helen?", Matt asked anxiously.  
Just at that moment we heard a tired sob and hurried towards the gap.  
Helen floated there, but you could tell her power was about to wear off completely.  
Matt reached into the gap and pulled Helen out.  
Now she was safe, saved by Matt and not by me, which I should have done.  
Because of the blood brotherhood that we formed without knowing it, a war will break out between the four houses.  
But we will stick together no matter what, and someday I will be Helen's savior and no one else's.


End file.
